Cardboard-box-routing machine



March 11 1924. 1,486,228

` E. s. J. CHILD GARDBOARD Box ROUTING MACHINE -J' L M n March. 1924.

E. s. CHILD CARDBOARD BOX ROUTING MACHINE 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Noi'. 29. 1922 lllllWll IIIIIIIIIIIIHLHIIMHII March 11 1924.

E. s. .1.v CHILD CARDBOARD BOX ROUTING MACHINE Filed Nov. 29 1922 4 Sheets-v-Sheet 3 A :1 immun luluulllmml Ef? A mm1' i f f2/wd sdm/d l' E.. S. '.J. CHILD CARDBOARD BOX ROIJIING MACHINE Filed Nov`. 29. 1922 4 SheetsfShet d Patented Mar. ll, 11.92%@

UME@ SIAIES essere EDMUND S. J'. CHILD, OF OAKLAND, CALIFORNIA.

CARDBOARD-BOX-ROUTING MACHINE.

Application led November 29, 1922. Serial No. 604,046.

To all-whom@ t may concern:

Be it known that I, EDMUND S. J. CHILD,

a citizen of the United States, residing in the city of Oakland, Alameda County, and

e State of California, have invented a new and useful Improvement in a Cardboard- BOX-Routing Machine, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to improvements in lo machines for routing out waste portions stamped into blanks for card-board boXes and the like whereby a stack of blanks may be moved into engagement with a routing disc to cause such waste portions to be knocked successively from the bottom to the topof the stack.

The primary object of my invention is to provide an improved boX routing machine.

Another object is to provide a machine 2e whereby waste portions stamped into cardboard boX blanks may be removed with a minimum of time and labor.

A further object is to provide an improved device whereby the removal of waste portions from box blanks may be readily accomplished without danger of damage to the blanks.

A still further object is to provide a machine whieh may be readily adjusted for operation with different sizes and types of boxes. l

Another object is to provide an improved machine of simple and rugged construction and which may be operated with a minimum amount of effort on the part of the operator to increase the efiiciency of the workman.

I accomplish these and other objects by means of the device disclosed in the drawings forming a part of the present specification wherein like characters of reference are used to designate similar parts throughout said specification and drawings, and in which:

.Figa 1 is a front elevation of my improved box routing machine.

Fig. 2 is a plan view of the same.

Fig. 3 is a broken plan view of the machine as adapted for operation upon a different type of box.

Fig. 4 is a side elevation of the machine.

Fig. 5 is an enlarged sectional detail showing the manner in which the knocking elements engage'the blanks.

Fig. 6 is a side elevation kshowing a modified arrangement of the machine to permit manual application of the blanks to the routing discs.

Fig. 7 is a b-roken front elevation of the machine as shown .in Fig. 6.

Figs. 8 and 9 are views showing different types of blanks and the waste portions to be removed therefrom.

In stamping out blanks for card-board boxes and the like, portions of the stock must be cut away to form tabs whereby the blank when folded to form the box may be secured and closed in the well known manner. These portions, which will hereinafter be termed waste portions, are cut through by the die when the blank is cut and creased but remain in place because of engagement by the surrounding edges of the blank, a subsequent operation, termed routing, being necessary to displace such waste portions. Heretofore this routing operation has been commonly carried out by hand, a workman taking a limited number of blanks, racked to bring the 'waste portions into matching relation, and holding them upon the edge of a table so that the waste portions overhang. A blunt instrument applied to the uppermost waste portion is then struck with a mallet or other suitable instrument and the waste portions of the several blanks forced downwardly and away from the the blanks. This operation is an arduous and tedious one and only a few blanks may be routed at a time as all the waste portions must be forced together past the several blanks. If too great a number of blanks be taken the resistance offered to the movement of the waste portions cause the lower blanks to be downwardly forced and thereby damaged.

To facilitate the routing of the above mentioned waste portions from the blanks and thus lessen the labor and consequently the cost of making card-board boxes, I have provided a machine which by referring to the drawings will be seen to comprise a frame l upon which a shaft 2 is journaled in bearings 3. Routing discs i provided with blunt knocking elements formed upon the periphery thereof are secured upon the shaft 2 by means of set screws 6 or other suitable Securing means adapted to permit adjustment of the discs 4 along the vshaft to obtain the desiredspacingl The shaft-is driven from a source of power not shown by means of a belt 7 or other driving means connected to the shaft by means of pulleys 8 connected upon one end of the shaft in the usual manner.

A carriage 9 is slidably mounted upon guides 11 secured upon the front of the frame 1 for movement past the discs 4. The carriage is preferably arranged for vertical movement and is normally held in its uppermost position by means of counter weights 12 connected thereto by cords 18 extending over pulleys 14 mounted upon the top of the frame. Springs 16 are mounted below the carriage to resiliently retard downward movement of the carriage and to cooperate with the counterweights 12 in returningthe carriage to its normal starting position.

A box receiving element 17 is detachably mounted upon brackets 20 secured upon the l carriage 9 to receive a stack of card-board box blanks 18, said element 17 having recesses 19 formed upon the inner edge thereof to match with waste portions 21 stamped into the blanks. Side pieces 22 carried by the element 17 retain the blanks 18 in matching relation with the recesses 19.

ln operation my invention is as follows. The discs 4 are positioned in the desired spaced relation upon the shaft 2 and the box receiving element secured upon the carriage 9 in such manner that the edges of the discs 4: will enter the recesses 19 when the carriage is depressed from its normal uppermost position. A stack of blanks 18 to be routed are now racked into matching relation and placed in the box receiving element v17 in such manner that the waste portions 21 will match with the recesses 19. The operator now exerts sufficient downward pressure upon the carriage to depress the same and thus move the element 17 and the blanks 18 past the routing discs 4 so that as the discs are rotated the blunt knocking elements 5 will engage the waste portions 21 and knock the same out successively through the recesses 19, the lowermost portions 21 being first displaced as the carriage is moved:` downwardly past the discs and the way thus cleared for the displacement of successive portions 21 as the carriage is further lowered. The engagement of the knocking elements with the blanks exerts a downward pressure upon the carriage so that after the lowermost blanks are engaged an extremely slight pressure is suilicient to cause the carriage to be moved past the discs. The knocking elements 5 are made of a blunt character in order to prevent any vcutting effect and thus preclude the possibility of cuttingthrough the portions 1.4: rather than knocking them from the blank. The number of blanks which may be routed at a single operation of the earriage is limited only by the distance through which the carriage may be moved as only the lowermost portions 111- are engaged by the disc during any moment of the operation.

The elements`17 are made of di'erent sizes and shapes and the recesses 19 correspondingly varied to accommodate any particular type of box. Thus in Fig. 2 ofthe drawings l have shown an element 17 adapted to receive box blanks of the type shown in Fig. 8 of the drawingss which is termed a raisin box, wherein the portions to be routed are designated by diagonal shading. In Fig. 9 a different type of box, known as a cracker box, is shown, the portions to be routed being shaded dark as in Fig. 8. The element 17 to accommodate this type of box would, of course, be designed toy receive the blank and the recesses 19 made to match with the portions 21 as shown. in Fig. 3 l have shown the application of the machine for use with another type of box wherein a greater number of waste portions 21 are to be routed out.. ln this case tive routing discs l of varie-d sizes are required, the discs being spaced along the shaft in alignment with the portions 21 to be removed thereby. lhen the carriage is depressed to move a stack of blanks of this character past the discs the several discs operate simultaneously to knock their respective portions 21 from the blanks. Thus, the waste portions may be removed at one operation from a large number of boxes whereas by hand op eration in the ordinary method employed a separate operation would be required for each portion 21 and only a limited number could be routed at a time.

In Figs. 6 and 7 l have shown a modiied arrangement of the machine whereby the discs l may be utilized for removing waste portions independently of the carriage and the element 17. In this arrangement the bearings 3 are secured upon the front of the frame 1 and a pair of discs 4 secured in proximate relation. The carriage 9 is secured in its loweremost position in any convenient manner so as to leave the discs free and readily accessible. ln this arrangement the blanks to be routed are moved manu ally into engagement with the teeth of the discs.y the operator holding a stack .of blanks in his hands and moving the stack downwardly upon the outer edge of the disc in such manner that the waste portions 21 are knocked out. yllhis arrangement is of value when the number of boxes to be routed is so limited as not to warrant the making of an element 17 to receive the blanks for operation in the usual manner,

The routing discs l are ordinarily enclosed, as best shown in Fig. l of the draw-- ings., so that all danger of a workman be coming injured by contactfwith the rotating discs is substantially' eliminated. the

same time, the carriage isso arranged that Y,

it may be readily moved out'of the Way when access to the discs is desired in order to effect any adjustment necessary.

From the above description *it Will beseen that l have provided an improved machine Which-.Will materially reduce the time .and labor necessary tothe operations described. The machine is of a compact and rugged construction which is easily operated 'as the carriage is arranged at such a height as'to be conveniently operated by a slight pressure applied as the blanks are moved into correct position upon the element 17 so that virtually the same movement will effect the positioning of. the blanks and the depressing` of the carriage. The counterbalancing of the carriage causes the carriage to be automatically returned to its-normal position after each operation so that the Workman is i.

relieved of any duty in this respect.

The machine may be made ofi-various sizes and arrangements Without departing v from the spirit of my invention as I do not desire to restrict myself tothe precise construction disclosed but Wish to avail myself of all modifications which may fall Within the scope of the appended claims.

Having thus described my invention what l claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent is: A

l. A box routing machine comprising a routing disc having aplurality of knocking elements thereon; and means for rotating said disc to cause the knocking elements to engage and knock out die cut Waste portions successively from a plurality of die cut blanks of card-board boxes when moved into engagement therewith.

2. A box routing machine comprising a plurality of adjustable routing discs having a plurality of blunt knocking elements thereon; and means for rotating said discs to cause the knocking elements to engage and knock out die cut Waste portions at different points along the sides of a plurality of die cut card-board box blanks successively when moved into engagement With the discs.

3. A box routing machine comprisin a plurality of routing discs having a plurality of blunt knocking elements thereon; a carriage slidably mounted adjacent said discs and arranged to receive a plurality of die cut card-board box blanks; and means for rotating said discs to cause the knocking elements to engage and knock out die out Waste-portions of the blanks successively when the carriage is moved past the discs.

4. A box routing machine comprising a plurality of routing discs; a carriage slidably mounted adjacent said discs; a box receiving element mounted upon the carriage to receive a plurality of card-board box blanks, said member havingl recesses formed in the edge thereof to match with Waste portions die cut into said blanks; and means forrotating the discs to knock out the Waste portion from the blanks.

5. A box routing machine comprising` a plurality of laterally adjustable rout-ing discs 5 a carriage slidably mounted adjacent said discs for movement therepast; a box receiving element detachably mounted upon the carriage, said element having recesses Y formed along the edge thereof to match with waste portions die cut into card-board box blanks; and means for rotating the discs to knock out said Waste portions from a plurality of blanks moved therepast by the carriage.

6. A boxl routing machine comprising a plurality of routing discs; a carriage slidably mounted adjacent said discs for movement therepast; a box receiving element detachably connected upon the carriage, said element having recesses formed along the vedge thereof to match with Waste portions die out into card-board box blanks stacked thereon; means for rotating the disc for knocking out the Waste portions from the blanks when the carriage is moved therepast; and means for returning said carriage to a normal starting position.

'7. A box routing machine comprising a plurality of routing discs having a plurality of blunt knocking elements thereon; a counterbalanced carriage slidably mounted adjacent said disc for movement thercpast; means carried by the carriage adapted to receive a plurality of die cut card-board box blanks with die cut Waste portions of the blanks aligned With routing discs; and means for rotating said discs to cause the knocking elements to engage and knock out said Waste portions successively from the blanks When the carriage is moved therepast.

8. A box routing machine comprising routing discs having a plurality of blunt knocking elements thereon; a carriage slidably mounted adjacent the discs for movement therepast; counterbalance Weights connected to the carriage for normally returning the carriage to a starting position; resilient means connected With the carriage for limiting the movement of the carriage and to cooperate with the counterbalance Weight for returning said carriage to the starting position; means for retaining a plurality ot card-board box blanks upon the carriage with die cut Waste portions stamped into said blanks aligned with the routing discs; and means for rotating the discs to cause the knocking elements to engage and knock out said Waste portions successively when the blanks are moved into engagement With said disc as the carriage is moved therepast.

9. A box routing machine comprising routing discs having a plurality of blunt knocking elements thereon; a carriage slidably mounted adjacent the discs for vertical movement therepast;r counterbalance weights connected to the carriage for normally holding said vcarriage in its uppermost position; means for retaining a plurality of card-board box 'blanks upon the carriage with Waste portions stamped therein aligned `with the routing discs; and means for rotating the discs to cause the knocking elements to engage and knock out the waste portions successively from theblanks when the carriage is depressed downwardly therepast to move the blanks successively into engagement with the discs.

l0. A box routing machine comprising routing discs; a carriage slidably mounted adjacent the discs for vertical movement therepast; counterblance weights connected to the carriage to normally retain said carriage in its uppermost position; a box engaging element detachably mounted upon the carriage and arranged to receive a stack of card-board box blanks, said element having recesses formed upon the edge thereof toV match with waste portions stamped into discs; and means for rotating the routing discs to engage and knock out the waste portions successively from the blanks when the carriage is depressed to move box engaging elements and blanks therepast.

l1. A box routing machine comprising a frame; routing discsV rotatably mounted upon the frame; a carriage slidably mounted upon the front of the frame for vertical incassa movement past the routing discs; a box receiving element mounted upon the carriage, and arranged to receive a stack of cardboard box blanks', said element having re- Avoesses formed in the edge thereof to receive the edges of the Vdiscs and arranged to regis- ,terv with Waste portions stamped intothe `a box receiving element mounted upon the carriage, and arranged to receive a stack of card-board box blanks, said element having recesses formed in the edge` thereof to receive the edges of the discs and arranged to register with waste portions stampedl into vthe blanks whereby a downward movement the blanks and aligned with the routing of the carriage past the discs will cause the waste portions of the blanks to be successively engaged by the discs and knocked out through the recesses in the edge of the box Vreceiving element; and means for returning the carriage to its normal starting position after each depression thereof. o

In witness whereof I hereunto set my signature. 4

EDMUND S. J. CHILD. 

